Reading was chosen at the discretion of selectors after he was the second Australian to finish at last month's national championships in Melbourne, despite it being just the second 50km event of his career.

The first local to finish was two-time Olympian Chris Erickson, who happens to be Reading's coach.

Reading posted a personal best 3:55.03, 24 minutes better than his first race in 2014, to beat training partner Ian Rayson by just 14 seconds after overtaking him in the last 1500 metres.

Russian athletes were provisionally banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in November, with Australia's Olympic silver medallist Jared Tallent adamant they "deserve to miss" the Olympics.

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Reading supports his stance, with Tallent hopeful of being awarded a retrospective gold medal after the man who beat him, Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin, was found to be a drug cheat.

"We've known for quite a few years the Russians have been doping," Reading said.